Additional Ideas

As well as the shop fronts I came up with a couple more ideas for typologies using the theory behind the Becher's work.

Apple Typology

I decided to do a typology of apples because the grid systems really illustrates the subtle differences in every apple and that no two are ever going to be the same.

Camera Typology

This typology of 35mm SLR cameras is especially relevant to the Becher's work as it is a product that is no longer used much and has stopped being made. In the Becher's work they photographed industrial buildings many of which were demolished soon after.

Further development of shop front typology

After discussing ways of how to improve my shop front typologies I decided they would be better if I cropped out the pavements on the photographs. I also decided I needed to keep the borderlines the same around the images.

Bakers Typology

Jewellers Typology

Cropping the pavement has again made the images in the typology more uniform and has taken out unnecessary distractions. All attention is on the buildings themselves.

Development of Idea

After my preliminary attempt at photographing shop fronts I decided it would be better to concentrate on one type of shop. After considering many possibilities I concentrated on Bakeries and Jewellers.

Bakery Typology

Jewellers Typology

I feel this second attempt was much more successful because the image looks balanced with the shop banners on the same level. It gives the typology a uniformity which is something that is always seen in the Becher's work.

First idea

To begin with I brainstormed ideas on what I could feature in a typology to emulate Bernd and Hilla's work. I thought about using various buildings for example churches and town halls in the end I decided to produce a typology of shop fronts. I thought it would be interesting to examine the differences between the brand logo on the entrance and the actual building of the shop on the higher level.

After completing this draft typology I decided it would be more successful if I concentrated on one type of shop for example, clothing stores or cafe's. This is so the comparison between them is more relevant.

I also realised that I had to be consistent in photographing the buildings straight on to avoid converging angles and keeping the name banner on the same level. This is to create the same uniformity which is seen in Bernd and Hilla's work.

Bernd and Hilla Becher: an overview of their work

Bernd and Hilla Becher are a German couple best known for their images of industrial buildings, such as; water towers, storage silos, lime kilns, blast furnaces. They carried out the main body of their work in the 1960's and 70's.

They approach their work by photographing each building systematically using a large format technical camera. For each image they follow a set of procedural rules so they stay the same. They always have a full frontal view, near identical flat lighting, a lack of human presence, isolated surroundings and use the same format, black and white print quality, sizing, framing and presentation. They also photograph the buildings at a number of different angles. 

With these photographs they then put them into typologies where they produce grids of black and white photographs of the same type of industrial structure. These typologies invite the viewer to compare their form and design. This transforms them into objects worthy of interest, by revealing the vast diversity of objects all within the same purpose.

The Becher's have exhibited their work all over Europe and America including Museum of Modern Art, New York, Tate Modern, São Paulo Bienal and Detroit Institute of Arts Museum to name a few. They tend to present their work into books grouped into type of buildings e.g Grain Elevators, Water Towers, Mineheads and more general ones such as Typologies and Basic Forms of Industrial Buildings.

For my Project I decided to emulate Bernd and Hilla Becher's body of work seen in their book; Anonyme Skulpturen: A Typology of technical Constructions. This was their first book, it was published in 1970. This was a time when photography was very fine art and fashion based, photographers such as Bailey and Avedon were in their prime, the Becher's scientific approach to photography was something that was innovative to its time.

The book is sorted into chapters of different buildings - lime kilns, cooling towers, blast furnaces, winding towers, water towers, gas holders and silos with an explanation of the purpose of each type of building at the beginning of the chapter. This layout mirrors the scientific approach that they take to photographing the buildings. The book features buildings from England, Germany Belgium and Holland, the project was undertaken with a real race for time because it had become evident that whole complexes of heavy industry were being closed and pulled down due to disuse.

Bernd Becher taught at the renowned Düsseldorf Art Academy. In result of this he influenced students who later made a name for themselves in the photography industry. Examples of these students are Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gurskey and Candida Höfer. Their work followed the same systematical approach that the Becher's took.

Andreas Gurskey - He is well known for his large scale architecture and landscape colour photographs. He often employs a high point of view.

 Candida Höfer - She is well known for taking photographs of interiors of public buildings such as libraries, banks and waiting rooms. She is known for her technical perfection. This is something the Becher's were also known for.

Thomas Ruff - His portraits are taken in an expressionless passport style. He stated that In a way he wanted to blot out any traces or information about the person in front of the camera. He also wanted to indicate that the viewer is not face-to-face with a real person, but with a photograph of a person."

Similarly, like these photographers have done, I am going to use the Becher's theory of typologies and technical perfection and apply it to my own subjects.

To conclude here are some further examples of Bernd and Hilla Becher's work:

Blast Furnaces

Industrial Facades

Gas Tanks

Pit Heads